Kandiah Shanmuganpillai vs. Hon. Attorney General – CA/HCC/0015/18-2024

In the case between Kandiah Shanmuganpillai (Accused-Appellant) and the Attorney General’s Department representing the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Respondent), the issue concerned the legal validity of a charge specifying a period exceeding one year for the alleged offence, contrary to Section 165(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act. It was determined that a charge covering a period longer than one year, except in limited specified offences, is legally defective and not merely irregular. The conviction and sentence based on such a defective charge were held to be unsustainable and set aside, resulting in acquittal of the accused-appellant. The court reaffirmed the principle that strict compliance with statutory provisions governing the framing of charges is required, w